Broadening project participation through a modified building sustainability assessment

Abstract

Building assessment tools are used as a means to assess and encourage the adoption of sustainability-led thinking and practice in the delivery of buildings. However, the established tools focus primarily on the aspects of green or sustainable building (i.e. building as an end-product), rarely exploring the contributions towards sustainable product delivery (i.e. the building process). However, some principles of sustainable development are best implemented within the process rather than by being embedded in the product. By addressing the issues of equity via participation through stakeholder-oriented sustainability assessment, building assessment tools could be used to enhance significantly the overall sustainability of project delivery in the construction sector. A theoretical justification is advocated for implementing a participatory approach that is underpinning the development of a specification for a building sustainability assessment model currently under development. The barriers to participation in the construction process are considered as well as the need to develop innovative mechanisms to broaden membership of the construction project team. The philosophical approaches and resultant practices drawn from Environmental Assessment and the Process Protocol are presented as examples of potential solutions for incorporating stakeholder participation in a modified building assessment process.Keywords: building assessment, building performance, Environmental Assessment, Process Protocol, service delivery, social equity, social responsibility, stakeholder participation, sustainable development On utilise des outils d'évaluation des bâ timents pour favoriser d'une part une réflexion orientée sur la durabilité en matière de construction de bâ timents et d'autre part l'adoption de pratiques durables en matière de livraison de bâ timents. Ces outils sont toutefois axés, pour l'essentiel, sur les aspects des bâ timents dits verts ou durables (c'est-à -dire des bâ timents en tant que produit final) mais explorent rarement les contributions à la livraison de produits durables (c'est-à -dire le processus de construction). Toutefois, certains principes de développement durable sont mieux mis en oeuvre au niveau de ce processus qu'à celui de leur intégration dans le produit. En traitant des questions d'équité via la participation au travers de l'évaluation de la durabilité axée sur les intervenants, ces outils d'évaluation des bâ timents pourraient servir à améliorer de façon significative la durabilité globale de la livraison de projets dans le secteur de la construction. L'auteur plaide la cause d'une justification théorique de la mise en oeuvre d'une approche participative qui sous-tend l'élaboration de spécifications relatives à un modèle d'évaluation de la durabilité des constructions, actuellement en cours de développement. Les obstacles à la participation au processus de construction sont également examinés dans cet article ainsi que la nécessité de développer des mécanismes novateurs pour élargir la compositio...

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